


my heart was wrapped up in clover / the night I looked at you

by stellations



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Adorable, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 17:05:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5673781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellations/pseuds/stellations
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Inspired by and written for a darling friend. Also loosely slid into my own timeline. As in the only one that really... isn't. AU?</p>
    </blockquote>





	my heart was wrapped up in clover / the night I looked at you

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by and written for a darling friend. Also loosely slid into my own timeline. As in the only one that really... isn't. AU?

She smells like cinnamon today. He can’t quite place why or where the smell came from, but there it is, hanging in the air between them like a ray of sunlight. Or perhaps a snowflake reflecting the sunlight, dazzling the mind with its breathtaking beauty. He certainly feels as though she’s stolen the very breath from his chest. Then again, that is a common feeling when he sees her. A smile crosses his face, curling his lips upwards as though he has a secret to share with her, a secret that is only for the two of them.

Letting his eyes take her in while she works is almost like taking in a secret. Their relationship hasn’t been private for years, but sometimes seeing her brings a feeling of protectiveness, like he wants to hold her close to him and protect her from the universe. She doesn’t need protecting, isn’t fragile at all and never has been. But she deserves so much in her life, the least of which is happiness. If he can give that to her, then that's all that matters.

He thinks, judging by the way her lips curl upwards and a certain light fills her eyes at the sight of him stepping further into her ready room, that she is happy now. At any rate, she’s happier than he’s seen her in a long, long time. Seeing her this happy makes everything worthwhile.

“Jean-Luc! I wasn’t expecting to see you for another few hours.”

“I wanted to ensure you were settling into your new office.” That may be the excuse he’s using right now, but it certainly isn’t the only reason he’s here.

“Don’t tell me you’re bored,” she teases, with that bright and very mischievous smile he’s come to associate with trouble and her quick wit. “I can fix that in about a second. There’s plenty to do around here. Have you seen the mess they left in sickbay?”

His smile only warms further as she speaks. Of course she went to sickbay first. She wouldn’t be Beverly Cheryl Picard if she hadn’t. “No, I didn’t. I did, however, see the mess the previous crew left in the holodeck. That will take a long time to clean up.”

A frown crosses her face and she finally sets aside the PADD she was examining so she can stand and make her way over to him. “Well, let’s have a look at it.”

“Wouldn’t you rather let someone else deal with it?” he asks in concern. “Perhaps your chief engineer?”

“Jean-Luc,” she begins, fixing him with a pointed look, as though she just _knows_ he’s up to more than he’s letting on, “if you thought it was a job for my chief engineer, you would not have brought it to my attention. You may as well take me there and spare us both the headache.”

It’s times like these that he remembers _exactly_ why he married her. She knows him too well. She can probably see right through him, but for some reason she’s playing along. Whatever the case may be, he’ll take it as a win.

“It likely is better if you look at it,” he agrees with a firm nod. Her eyes narrow slightly as she sizes him up before she strides past him and out of the ready room.

They pass through the bridge and a good deal of the ship to get to the holodeck. As they go, he makes a note to thank the crew for keeping the secret so well. They barely even glance at him as they pass, even though he knows they’re all itching to find out if she suspects anything at all. He’d had to cajole quite a few of them into helping him and they had all endeared themselves to him so firmly while he was putting his plans into motion. Clearly, they cared for their new captain, even though they had never really met her before. Most of them hadn’t. The few officers who came with them from the _Enterprise_ didn’t count.

The whir of the turbo lift doors opening snaps him from his thoughts. His artificial heart feels as though it’s hammering away in his chest like a natural one, even though he knows it can’t. Rare it is when he feels quite this nervous about something, but at a time like this, he can forgive himself. She’s still fixing him with that studiously suspicious look, so he schools his features into something resembling his normal expression and heads out of the turbo lift at the first opportunity. He falls back as they approach the holodeck, allowing her to walk in first. As the doors slide closed behind them, he finds himself very glad he did.

Her eyes light up as he comes to stand next to her, their blue depths taking in everything she can see of the café they’re now a part of. It’s a small one, a private room for two, with enough space for their table and a small space for dancing. Music plays softly through the air - _and I'd give up forever to touch you / cuz I know that you feel me somehow_ – and as Beverly turns to face him, Jean-Luc can tell that he’s managed to surprise her beyond her imaginings.

“Jean-Luc... what is this?”

He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he holds out his hand to her, leading her to the dance floor when she slides her hand into his. Settling into a close dance, he leads her slowly, his smile warm and exceptionally happy that this went off without a hitch.

“Happy anniversary, Beverly,” he murmurs after a few minutes, leaning in to kiss her gently. “I wanted to make our first something you would remember.”

Her head tilts so she can rest her forehead against his. “Just when I thought I couldn’t love you more than I already did... You aren't an impostor, are you?”

A gentle laugh escapes him. Even though he only knows part of that story, he understands what she isn’t saying. There’s no need to voice anything else. Instead, he just sways with her for a time, enjoying the feeling of holding his wife in his arms and thinking that there really is nothing better in any universe than this.


End file.
